Austin E. Earl Sterling Sr.

Austin E. Earl Sterling Sr. October 26, 1926 – April 11, 2009 On April 11, 2009, Heaven welcomed home a dedicated servant to others as our husband, father and Granddaddy, Austin E. Earl Sterling Sr. passed away at Providence Hospital surrounded by his family. Services are 10:00 a.m. Thursday, April 16, at First Presbyterian Church, 1100 Austin Avenue, with the Rev. William Sterling and Dr. Jimmie Johnson officiating. Internment will immediately follow at Oakwood Cemetery. A family visitation will be held Wednesday from 5 to 7:00 p.m. at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home. Born on October 26, 1926 to Sylvia Dentand Earl Sterling in the Oak Lawn area of what is now known as Bellmead, Texas, Earl, as he was best known, attended La Vega elementary schools prior to his family moving to the Gholson community in McLennan County. There as a young boy, “Little” Earl developed a thirst for reading and found his vocational passions for electronics and flying, learning to build crystal radio sets for friends and neighbors and he became a pilot while still in his teenage years. He attended West schools and enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II where he continued his education becoming a highly proficient radio technician and with specialized training to become a reconnaissance pilot flying the RP-38 Lightning. After the war, Earl joined the Civil Aeronautics Agency CAA where he was stationed at advanced and remote stations in Panama Canal Zone and Swan Island in the West Indies. He became a prize winning ham radio operator, winning several international competitions in the International Radio Relay League IRRL. His radio license for the last twenty years was KT5Q from which he made friends around the world via voice and code radio transmissions. He continued to advance his love of electronics as the CAA became what we now know as the Federal Aviation Administration FAA. During these early years, he became an television expert, repairing ”tube” television sets for family, friends, and neighbors and developing life long friendships with so many others in the electronics and television field in the Central Texas area. While in the FAA, he became a nationally recognized expert on radar and radio based instrument landing systems used at our nation’s airports. His expertise as a trouble shooter for airport instrument landing systems and radar arrays was widely sought and he retired from government service in 1974. In his later years he remained quite active, serving on the Board of Directors and managing the Waco Lighthouse for the Blind for several years. He used his entrepreneurial spirit as a private businessman becoming an early pioneer in personal satellite antennae systems and as an independent trucker for several years. However, his primary “job” in his retirement years was being “Granddaddy”. In 1952, while on rotation back to Texas from his service in Panama, he married the love of his life, Ida Lee Donaldson at St. John’s Methodist Church in Waco. Earl then took his young bride with him to Panama, returning to Texas to stay in 1953. They were blessed with four sons and a daughter and many wonderful grandchildren during these past 56 years. While a private man, Earl gave much back to his community. He was a member of the Fort Worth Toastmaster Club for many years and was a longtime member, director and officer of the Waco Founders’ LIONS Club. His activity in the LIONS led him to many service projects, whether it was working to fund the LIONS Camp in Kerrville, Texas, collecting glasses for LIONS projects helping the vision impaired or delivering food and fruit baskets to families at Thanksgiving and Christmas. He was also a member of the Baylor-Waco Foundation. He was a charter member and director of the HOT Federal Credit Union. In 1981, he was stricken with prostate cancer, but with the quiet strength he was known for and the dedicated service and care of Dr. Robert Corwin, Earl was a heroic survivor for 28 years. And while he was not a former student, Earl was no less a devoted Texas Aggie, sending four of his children to Texas A&M University. For several years, he provided large trucks from his private business for use in building the Aggie Bonfire as well as following Aggie athletics and attending campus traditions such as Aggie Muster whenever he could. Most anytime, you could find him having coffee with his dear friends down at Kim’s Restaurant, wearing one of many old A&M caps, telling Aggie jokes while at the same time, bragging on the Ol’ Ags. He was a patriot and a man of profound personal character and uncompromising integrity. He was dedicated to the service of others above himself; a philanthropist of moderate means and a great magnanimous heart. Earl was preceded in death by his parents, brother and four sisters as well as many dear friends and colleagues from the Central Texas community. Earl is survived by his beloved wife of 56 years, Ida Lee Sterling; four sons, Austin E. Sterling II and wife, Beverly of Waco; Rev. William A. Sterling of Meridian; Bryant L. Lewis Sterling and wife, Kay of Dallas; and Steven K. Sterling and wife, Cecilia of Canton, Texas; his daughter, Melinda Lee Townsend and husband, David of Waco; eighteen beloved grandchildren; six great grandchildren; and a host of dear friends and family throughout the Waco area. Pallbearers will be his older grandsons, Brian Sterling, Geoffrey Sterling, Matthew Sterling, Michael Sterling, Parsons Townsend and Taylor Townsend. Honorary pallbearers are his remaining and dearly beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family would like to thank Dr. Robert Corwin for his friendship and care that gave us so much more time together; Meredith and Michelle in the Providence ICU for caring for Granddaddy and supporting us in those last critical hours, and to so many friends for their care and support. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society or to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Granddaddy knew he could never pay back what blessings were given him, so he always tried to pay them forward. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our “Memorial Guestbook” at www.wilkirsonhatchbailey.com.